The San Sebastian Film Festival criticizes Netanyahu's "unimaginable massacres" and "genocide" in Gaza during its presentation.

The steering committee of the San Sebastián Film Festival today publicly condemned the "genocide and unimaginable massacres that Benjamin Netanyahu's government is perpetrating" in Gaza and demanded a ceasefire and the release of all hostages held by Hamas.

The director of the Zinemaldia, José Luis Rebordinos, in Spanish, and the festival's communications manager, Ruth Pérez de Anucita, in Basque, read a statement of condemnation at the press conference called to announce the latest details of the festival, which will take place from September 19 to 27.

The San Sebastian festival's steering committee defends the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and believes it is necessary to make a "general call for democracy and warn about its weaknesses in the face of the abundance of authoritarian tendencies and discourses that currently generate spurious comparisons with dictatorial regimes," they emphasized.

" No, dictatorship is not the same as democracy. No, respecting human rights is not the same as systematically violating them . From the cultural world, we need democracy and human rights to exist, to safeguard the freedoms of our societies," they warned. It is well known that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is "disregarded daily," and in many parts of the world, they acknowledged.

But the festival's management felt it necessary to publicly express its rejection of "the genocide, the unimaginable massacres to which Benjamin Netanyahu's government" has been subjecting the Palestinian people since Hamas perpetrated the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, which "of course" it also condemns.

"They kill Palestinian civilians. They kill children. They kill journalists and humanitarian workers. They use famine as a weapon. They prevent and obstruct access to humanitarian aid ," they explained.

"Mass relocations of the Palestinian population are being forced. Buildings are being razed. Hospitals are being bombed. They are humiliating, conquering, crushing. They are destroying Gaza. They are flouting international law," they added.

" Such atrocity, such terror, is unbearable. We are filled with rage and pain at such injustice ," they added. "It is imperative to condemn today the systematic and planned violation of human rights, the genocide being perpetrated by the Netanyahu government," declared the Zinemaldia representatives, who indicated that "although it may seem naive," they demand an immediate ceasefire and the release of all hostages held by Hamas.

"We look forward to a future peaceful coexistence between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples," they concluded.

Festival officials have also confirmed the presence of Esther García and Jennifer Lawrence, the two winners of the Donostia Prize. International stars such as Juliette Binoche, Paul Dano, Harris Dickinson, Matt Dillon, Colin Farrell, Denis Lavant, Maria de Medeiros, and Ron Perlman will also be present. Filmmakers Olivier Assayas, Edward Berger, Arnaud Desplechin, Claire Denis, Lucile Hadzihalilovic, Agnieszka Holland, Richard Linklater, Jafar Panahi, and Joachim Trier will present their new projects at Zinemaldia .

Director JA Bayona will preside over the jury, which includes filmmakers Laura Carreira and Gia Coppola, actress Zhou Dongyu, performer and singer Lali Espósito, actor Mark Strong, and producer Anne-Dominique Toussaint.